The Red Vine Drabble Series
by Angelic Temptress
Summary: A series of drabbles, dealing with Harley & Ivy and their relationship's outcome.
1. Locked Exchange

Poison Ivy checked if her roses needed water, and a set of voices distracted her.

A new doctor, no an intern, strolled by with one of the asylum's psychiatrists. She wore black-rimmed glasses and a well-fitted lab coat. Her hair was a perfect shade of blonde, pulled back into a perfectly neat bun.

The fresh face glanced in Ivy's direction, locking gazes for a brief second.

Ivy's heart quivered, but she ignored it. A year would pass before Ivy realized she had developed a crush on the little blonde.

The doctor's name would be changed to Harley Quinn by then.


	2. Red Eye

She couldn't see out her right eye. The world looked redder that it usually did.

He wasn't laughing. The silence frightened her.

She just wished he'd laugh.

Slowly, Harley stood. She could feel her cheek turning black and blue as the moment passed.

His deadly eyes narrowed and his gloved hands were fists. His smile was one she recognized all too well.

"Mistah J…" She wanted to sob, only so he'd get more pleasure from her pain.

"You knew what Ivy was planning. Admit it!"

She shook her head. It hurt badly when she did.

"Honest I didn't, Puddin' –"


	3. Evening Meeting

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be strolling the rooftops?" she asked with a cunning smile.

"Someone told me you'd be here."

Catwoman… _Selina_ laughed softly. "I'm flattered."

He watched her slowly walk the ledge. Part of him knew she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

"I hate to say 'Hello' and run, but I've got to go. There's a Tomcat expecting me in fifteen."

"I'm… happy for you."

Her green eyes fluttered. "You're not the only man in my life… With him, it's complicated."

"With you it always is."

He disappeared before she could respond.


	4. Madness

Harley slowly enters his office, which has nothing more than a rotten desk and a few _funny_ gadgets.

"Hiya, puddin'."

He smiles and stands. "Harley…" He draws out the syllables of her name, almost as if to keep her on his tongue for longer than necessary.

"I'm sorry, Mistah J." She shivers. Her blue eyes are wet.

"I get angry sometimes. It's okay to be frightened sometimes too."

He touches her with his white hand. She flinches. Her bruised, bottom lip quivers. He pulls Harley into his arms, pressing her bare form against his suit.

Then he kisses her cheek.


	5. Smile

Days like these hurt the most.

He'd neglect her. Ignore her. Exclude her.

She didn't even exist to him.

Somehow, she knew it was her fault. She had done something to deserve this lack of attention. She had said something.

How many times had he thrown her aside like a used dishtowel? How many times had he told her to leave? How many times did she come crawling back? How many times had he asked for her to come back? How many times had he apologized?

Harley didn't know what to think anymore or why she stayed.

Then he smiled.


	6. Difficult

She carefully rolled over to look at the man sleeping beside her.

His hair was disheveled, and she almost wanted to smile. Had he been her boyfriend, she might have. Had she not been a rebound girl, she would have.

Dick had stolen most of the sheets. Instead of silently battling for control of a corner, she decided it was best to leave.

She sat up and rubbed the back of her neck. Dick, not as asleep as she had thought, suddenly gripped her left wrist.

"Don't run out again, Helena." He opened his blue eyes.

"Why?"

He couldn't answer.


	7. Lonely Alone

Harley watched the bumps appear on her skin. It was cold in her room. The motel's heater had been having problems all week, said the guy at the front desk.

She shivered and wrapped herself with the comforter.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

Harley was alone. She remembered days when loneliness didn't bother her so much, days when she'd been hell-bent on becoming a successful doctor.

The silence scared her. The cold frightened her. The bland colors of the room made Harley want to vomit.

Her body quaked with a sob, and she pulled her knees to her chest.


	8. Wet Tears

Her pale fingers traveled comfortable trails through Harley's hair as she left wet tears on Ivy's pillow.

Batman had finally gotten rid of the Joker, and Ivy couldn't have been happier, but there was a time and a place to admit her happiness.

This was not that time.

"I think they think I'm dead, Red."

Ivy nodded and continued stroking Harley's blonde hair. Her green eyes focused on the scrapes and bruises covering Harley's shaking body.

She wouldn't let anyone hurt her again.

"Then we'll hide, Harl. You and me. No one will bother us again."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Red."


	9. Sometimes

Harley opened her eyes to try and escape her loud nightmare. Sometimes at night, she'd hear his laughing or his mocking her and would quake with shivers.

The good memories were sometimes few and far between.

She climbed out of the tiny bed and pulled on some clothing, making sure she wouldn't wake the sleeping form on the opposite side of the mattress. She studied the scarcely clad Ivy and sighed. Sometimes, Harley would imagine thin, grinning lips instead of plum feminine ones. Sometimes, she'd envision short, green hair instead of red.

Afterward, she'd feel terrible because Ivy loved her.


	10. Oh Boy

Helena finished buttoning Dick's shirt and fluffed her hair. He was cooking, and she didn't know what to do with herself.

This was different from the last few times she'd spent the night.

She actually stayed for breakfast.

Her mouth twitched at the sight of his atrocious apartment. It looked as if he hadn't cleaned in months.

"How do you like your eggs?" Dick asked from the kitchen. "But, I'm not guaranteeing anything fancier than scrambled."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Mind getting that?"

She didn't look through the peephole before opening to see Barbara.

Helena wished she had.


	11. As the Saying Goes

"I'm sorry about that," Dick mumbled as he slowly rushed back to the stove and the eggs.

Helena now sat at the table, sipping her hot and satisfying coffee.

"You're apologizing because your ex caught you with someone else?"

He sighed. "She shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I'm a big girl, Dick."

"I know, it's just… _this_ between us… it's strange."

"And?"

"I wanted the morning after to not be awkward."

"Well you know how the saying goes… 'An awkward morning is better than a boring night.'"

"I've never heard that one."

"I stole it from a T-shirt."


	12. Happy Birthday, Mr Joker

Ivy quietly slipped into the building. Her gut knew exactly where she'd find Harley.

She removed her large sunglasses and the scarf that hid her red hair as she continued down the hallway.

"Harl?"

Harley turned her head to reveal eyes, red from crying.

"Hey ya, Red."

Ivy scanned the area and noticed a piece of coconut cream pie sitting on the cement floor.

The mentally ill Robin had killed him in that room.

"It's Mistah J's birthday, so I thought…"

"That's very sweet of you, Harley."

She shrugged. "I miss him."

"I know, but you really shouldn't be here."


	13. Bad Habits

Harley's blonde hair was straight and she wore large red earrings. She still discretely clung to her jester days by displaying color on her lips or from her ears or with her clothing.

She pulled a cigarette from her bag.

"Those are terrible for you."

"I'm not good at giving up things that are bad for me."

Before she could light it, Ivy took it.

"RED!"

Ivy stood after tossing the cigarette into the trashcan. "I have to pick up some supplies for the garden."

Harley didn't know Ivy left to complete a job in Metropolis until the evening news.


	14. Sunshine on my Shoulder

A breeze blew Ivy's red hair from her face, and she smiled as the sun's rays beamed down on her. She and Harley had left Gotham for an abandoned cabin in the country. Together they sat in the grass.

A cloud blocked the sun, and Harley sighed. "Looks like rain's comin', Red."

"We could stay inside tonight and play a game of cards." Ivy shut her mouth quickly, realizing what she had suggested.

"Why don't we live out here where there's nothing to remind me of… We could have a greenhouse. I could help you with a garden."

"Sure, Harl."


	15. Understanding

"I miss your hair." Ivy ran her pale hand through Harley's short, brown pixie cut. "But I guess I could live with this."

Harley laid her head on Ivy's arm and smiled. "I was thinking about you changing your hair too."

Ivy rolled her eyes and pulled the comforter closer to her chin.

"All you do is warn me of exposure, but you can't even leave the life! The Bat's gonna find me, find us and –"

"He knows you're alive." Ivy pulled her arm from underneath Harley's head.

"Why hasn't he brought me in?"

"I still don't know."


	16. Objection

"When did you get in?"

Batman had been sitting at his computer for hours. Selina placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't turn to look at her.

"You know, you should have gotten some rest. You have a meeting in two hours."

If he were still alive, he would've had Alfred cancel it.

"Something wrong, Bruce?"

A picture of a woman with short, brown hair filled the screen.

"Isn't that Quinn? I thought…"

"She's in hiding."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to leave her alone."

Selina moved to sit in his lap, and he didn't object.


	17. Exchange

"Harley Quinn is alive."

Dick's jaw dropped. "What?"

"He told me yesterday. Apparently he's known for months." Barbara sighed and shook her head. "I don't understand him."

"You were never supposed to."

She didn't glare at him. She knew he was right.

"Quinn shacked up with Ivy?"

"That's my first guess. We should just track them down –"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Harley's not a threat."

"Dick, she brainwashed Tim."

"No, Joker brainwashed Tim. And he brainwashed her years ago."

Barbara narrowed her eyes. "So, you and Bruce are just going to let her go?" She paused. "You've known, haven't you?"


	18. Working Girl

"You look familiar."

Harley raised her eyes from her pad of paper and shook her head. "Ya know, I get that all the time. I got one of those faces." She brushed a dark bang behind her ear and gave a natural, though nervous, smile.

The guy wrinkled his forehead. "No. I'm sure I've seen you someplace before."

"I don't think so."

"Ever worked in Garden City?"

For a spilt second, she thought he had said Gotham.

"Nope. Would you like an order of fries with that burger?"

"Sure."

Harley quickly made her way to the restroom, her throat dry.


	19. Lies

MATURE RATING WARNING. (I drop the f-bomb.)

/

She flipped her hair to dry the bottom layer. When she looked in the mirror, she saw Nightwing's reflection and turned off the blow-dryer.

"You didn't say he's been fucking Selina."

Barbara turned around and didn't deny the accusation.

"Is that why you spent the night?"

"He's changed. He revealed his secrets to _her_, and he's been protecting Harley and Ivy."

"Why are you so surprised?" he asked. "You know they have a past. If I had a nickel for every time I accidentally saw them –"

"Spare me, please."

Nightwing paused. "Don't come by Blüdhaven for a while, Barbara."


	20. Looking for Love

"Not gonna lie. I, for once, agree with Batgirl." Huntress crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, your opinion doesn't count. You're not one for mercy."

"Dick…" she whispered with a rough voice. "Tim is like your brother."

Nightwing looked at her, his eyes bluer than usual. "You don't think I know that? Harley only did what she did so that son of a bitch would love her."

Huntress was about to say something, but he cut her off.

"I know what that feels like. The only difference is I picked up and left… Let's just call it a night."


	21. Pardon

"Where is he?" Batgirl demanded after removing her helmet.

"Not here."

"Obviously."

Selina continued cleaning around the computer. "Try Metropolis."

"I got word that Harley and Ivy have been living in a homey, little cabin just outside of Gotham."

"You don't say." Selina crossed her arms. "Why not leave Quinn alone?"

Batgirl's eyes flickered with anger. "Oh, I forgot. Bruce gave you amnesty first."

"This has nothing to do with me."

"He pardoned a thief. Why not a murderer?"

"Harley lost her idea of a family that night. Her disturbed mind will eventually inflict the vengeance you're seeking for Robin."


	22. Reunion

"I'm not the brains of this dynamic duo, but I got enough sense to know you shouldn't be gettin' arrested."

Ivy dropped her bags and pulled off her sunglasses. "Missed you too." She hadn't been home in a while. Arkham managed to keep her longer than expected.

Harley shrugged. "Did you expect a kiss? You were on TV the last time I saw you. I had to work, Red. You know how much money this place costs to live in?"

"And where did you think the money was coming from before? It wasn't as if _Puddin'_ left you anything."

"What?"


	23. a house that might have been a home

Huntress glanced at Q, knowing what he was thinking.

Ivy hadn't robbed the bank she walked out of that day. She withdrew some money instead.

No crime committed.

But Ivy knew where the very alive Harley Quinn was staying.

At her request, Vic followed Ivy's car to a cabin out in the country.

"Why do you need to catch her?"

"Ivy escaped from Arkham."

"I'm not talking about Poison Ivy."

"Quinn has done a lot of damage too."

"And we can't leave them be because of it."

"Suggesting that we aid criminals? That we help Nightwing and Batman aid criminals?"


	24. Decades

A decade after Joker kidnapped Tim, the repercussions were still slowly fading away. Both Tim and Barbara had separated themselves from their masked egos. Dick remained in Blüdhaven and worked part-time as a Leaguer. Selina Kyle, although without a costume, still waited for Batman to return each night.

Helen Mathews and Phoebe McNeal, formerly known as Harleen Quinzel and Pamela Isley (or Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy to those who knew them best), still lived in a cabin outside of Gotham; both identities had been fabricated by a nameless man.

The brunettes were currently having breakfast.

Batman lowered his binoculars.


	25. One Small Funeral

Harley held the urn close to her heart as she walked through Gotham State Park. With what little money she had, she made sure Ivy had a decent burial.

A rose garden, the same she and Ivy had tended to, had been moved from Arkham and brought to the park, courtesy of the Wayne Foundation.

She quickly and carefully spread the ashes around the garden.

"I thought you'd be here," Harley said and closed the urn.

The two uninvited guests weren't wearing costumes.

She knew Batman and Catwoman followed her. Harley was just glad they came to pay their respects.


End file.
